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Air / Cortex / Economy first / OBSERVED BUILD

Standard air

Cortex Air build order · Supreme Isthmus

The role's baseline: Aircraft Plant immediately, transports and scouts for the team first, Advanced Metal Extractor and Fusion Reactor on a normal timeline, transitioning into Valiant fighter coverage over the game.

Usually transports first (72%)

#eco #team support #air · 597 distinct matches · 119 players · 79% of Cortex Air games · team won 47% of 669 · Recently observed

HOW TO PLAY IT

Key timing: Aircraft Plant by 1:23

  1. Take 3 mex and open straight into Aircraft Plant.
  2. Finish Aircraft Plant, start pumping Valiant for escort duty.
  3. Get T2 constructor going to scale eco alongside air production.
  4. Add Advanced Metal Extractor to keep pace with team's economy.
  5. Bring Fusion Reactor online, keep making Hercules and Finch for allies.

Phase by phase

TYPICAL OF ITS 597 GAMES
  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
PLAY THE OPENING

Follow the example game's first 6:00 step by step: what to build now, what comes next, and where it goes. At 1× it keeps pace with your own game.

  1. 1

    Up to the Aircraft Plant

    Economy
    • Metal Extractor3Mex
    • Wind Turbine4Wind
    Order
    1. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plant after 3 mex, 4 winddone ~1:24, middle half 1:13–1:35

    Some games also: energy storage (39%)

    By 1:03 in all: 3 mex · 4 wind

    The example game in this phase · 3 steps
    1. Mex ×3
    2. Wind ×5
    3. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 1:14 · typical 1:24
  2. 2

    Aircraft Plant to 5:00

    Economy
    • Metal Extractor1Mex
    • Wind Turbine9Wind
    • Wind Turbine3Wind
    Builders
    • Construction Turret2 Con turret
    • Construction Aircraft1 Con aircraft
    Army
    • Valiant5 Valiant
    • Finch2 Finch for allies
    • Hercules2 Light transport for allies
    • Hephaestus1 Heavy transport for allies
    • Shuriken1 Shuriken

    Some games also: energy storage (45%) · light transport (44%) · converter (39%) · con turret (33%)

    By 5:00 in all: 3 mex · 1 mex · 13 wind · 3 wind · 1 energy storage · 2 con turret

    The example game in this phase · 27 steps
    1. Wind
    2. HerculesLight transportfor Geo sea
    3. Wind
    4. FinchFinchfor Geo sea
    5. ValiantValiant
    6. Wind ×5
    7. ValiantValiant
    8. Wind ×4
    9. ValiantValiant
    10. Wind
    11. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    12. Construction AircraftCon aircraftfor Tech
    13. Mex
    14. ValiantValiant
    15. Con turret
    16. ValiantValiant ×3
    17. Con turret
    18. ValiantValiant
    19. Wind ×3
    20. ValiantValiant ×2
    21. Wind
    22. ValiantValiant
    23. Wind
    24. Con turret
    25. Wind
    26. HephaestusHeavy transportfor Tech
    27. Wind
  3. 3

    5:00 to 10:00

    Economy
    • Wind Turbine20Wind
    • Wind Turbine4Wind
    • Energy Converter6Converter
    Order
    1. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plant after 18 wind, 17 wind, 6 converterin 57% of games
    Builders
    • Construction Turret4 Con turret
    Army
    • Valiant9 Valiant
    • Shuriken1 Shuriken

    Some games also: con aircraft (35%) · fusion (35%) · light transport (31%)

    By 10:00 in all: 3 mex · 1 mex · 24 wind · 20 wind · 8 converter · 1 energy storage

    The example game in this phase · 40 steps
    1. Wind
    2. ValiantValiant
    3. Wind
    4. ValiantValiant
    5. Wind
    6. ValiantValiant ×2
    7. Wind
    8. ValiantValiant ×3
    9. Wind
    10. ValiantValiant
    11. HerculesLight transportfor Geo
    12. Wind
    13. ValiantValiant ×3
    14. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 6:59 · typical 6:48
    15. Wind
    16. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex ×3
    17. Fusion ReactorFusiondone 10:02 · typical 10:55
    18. Wind ×4
    19. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 10:20
    20. T2 converter
    21. Con turret
    22. ValiantValiant
    23. Con turret ×2
    24. ValiantValiant
    25. Con turret
    26. ValiantValiant ×21
    27. Con turret
    28. ValiantValiant ×6
    29. Con turret
    30. Fusion ReactorFusion
    31. ValiantValiant ×10
    32. T2 converter
    33. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 13:44
    34. ValiantValiant ×3
    35. T2 converter
    36. ValiantValiant ×4
    37. T2 converter
    38. ValiantValiant ×2
    39. Advanced Aircraft PlantAdvanced Aircraft Plantnot finished by 15:00
    40. Construction AircraftCon aircraft

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is Frustr8ted's (36 OS, 07/09/2026); pick another.

Team trades

IN AT LEAST 30% OF ITS GAMES

You hand over

  • Finch2 Finch to Geo sea or Beach seafirst at 1:51 · in 96% of games
  • Hercules3 Light transport to Tech or Geo sea or Beach seafirst at 2:06 · in 99% of games
  • Hephaestus1 Heavy transport to Beach sea or Pond or Techfirst at 2:25 · in 74% of games

You get

  • Wind Turbine3 Wind from Beach sea or Geo seafirst at 1:38 · in 65% of games
  • Wind Turbine3 Wind from Beach sea or Geo sea or Pondfirst at 1:44 · in 49% of games
  • Construction Bot1 Con bot from Techfirst at 2:20 · in 85% of games
  • Advanced Construction Bot1 T2 con bot from Techfirst at 6:03 · in 94% of games

How it plays out

Typical game of this build, running totals by minute

Metal produced

010k20k30k
0:005:0010:0015:00

metal

Enemy metal destroyed

01k2k3k
0:005:0010:0015:00

metal

Own metal lost

01k2k3k
0:005:0010:0015:00

metal

669 games.

Show as table
ByMetal produced: This buildEnemy metal destroyed: This buildOwn metal lost: This build
1:0039300
2:0092500
3:00145900
4:002054051
5:00276573116
6:003769125167
7:005146190224
8:007021240292
9:009352263343
10:0011841338467
11:0014411439631
12:0017116584949
13:00199489191269
14:002269914241816
15:002558320892701
WHAT THE NUMBERS SAY

This is the role's standard support job, winning less than half its games while producing little combat impact but reliably feeding transports and scouts to teammates.

  • + Reaches Aircraft Plant almost immediately (1:23), fast T2 constructor by 5:58.
  • + Keeps own losses low (2789 by 15:00) versus other roles.
  • − Destroys only 2027 enemy metal by 15:00, minimal combat contribution.
  • − Fusion Reactor only completes in 57% of games, some games stall on eco.
THE EXAMPLE YOU ARE READING

Frustr8ted

35.9 OS · 07/09/2026

Open source match ↗

4 received units · includes a constructor
106 metal received · 9661 energy received

Allied construction assistance is unknown. Timings are observations, not a promise of solo reproducibility.

Typical milestones

Aircraft Plant1:24Middle 50%: 1:13–1:35 · n=669
Advanced Metal Extractor6:48Middle 50%: 6:21–7:25 · n=643
Fusion Reactor10:55Middle 50%: 9:53–12:11 · n=411

Played most by

DRM39games of this buildAdeus33games of this buildTheGeneraI32games of this buildNutzz28games of this buildHummell27games of this build